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U.S. Independence Day special

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The Manhattan Project: The United States, United Kingdom and Canada began working on a research and development project that produced the first atomic bombs during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army Corps of Engineers.

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US Independence Day special, The Manhattan Project

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The United States of America celebrates its Independence Day today. Here's a look at the most seminal, historical and influential events in the evolution of the United States of America: Victory over Japan Day: On the afternoon of August 14, 1945, Japan surrendered to the U.S., effectively ending the second World War. Few days before VJ Day, the United States dropped atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, followed by Soviet Union declaring war on Japan, hence forcing Japan to surrender under the terms of the Potsdam Declaration. (Getty Images)

9/11: On September 11, 2001, four airplanes changed United States of America and the world forever. Nineteen Al-Qaeda terrorists struck a stunning blow on the mightiest superpower in the world. Four airplanes got hijacked by Al-Qaeda terrorists and three of them were flown into the twin towers of World Trade Center and the Pentagon (the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense). The fourth plane crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after its passengers tried to overcome the hijackers. About 3000 people were killed in these attacks. (Reuters)

First Black President: On January 20, 2009, Barack Hussein Obama created history by becoming the first African-American to win the US presidency. He defeated Republican nominee John McCain in the general election. Obama was was re-elected president in November 2012, defeating Republican nominee Mitt Romney. (Reuters)

Saddam Hussein's hanging: Former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein was hanged in the predawn hours of December 30, 2006 for crimes against humanity in the mass murder of Shiite men and boys in the 1980s. The execution took place at the joint Iraqi-American military base Camp Justice, located in Kazimain, a north-eastern suburb of Baghdad. (Getty Images)

Apollo 11: American agency NASA created history on July 20, 1969, when its spaceship landed the first humans on the Moon. Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first ones to step onto the lunar surface. The pic shows crew of the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission (left to right) Commander Neil Armstrong, command module pilot Michael Collins and lunar module pilot, Edwin Aldrin Jnr. (Getty Images)

American Civil War: A massive civil war hit the United States in 1861 after several Southern slave states declared their secession and formed the Confederate States of America. The war was to oppose extension of slavery into the western territories. More than 600,000 soldiers dead in the war that continued for four years. In 1865, the war finally ended after the Confederacy collapsed and slavery was abolished. (Getty Images)

Vietnam War: The United States decided to enter the Vietnam War in 1975 because it felt threatened by Communism's spread into democratic South Vietnam. Tens of thousands of U.S. citizens opposed their country's involvement in the war and these rallies worked. The war finally ended in April 1975, but till then 58,000 Americans had died. (Getty Images)

Osama bin Laden shot dead: President Barack Obama announced on May 2, 2011, that Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed by US Navy SEALs and CIA paramilitary forces who tracked him to a compound in Abbottadad, Pakistan. The successful operation by US Navy ended the CIA's 20-year hunt for Bin Laden. (Reuters)

John F Kennedy assassination: John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, was assassinated on November 22, 1963, by a sniper while traveling with his wife Jacqueline, Texas Governor John Connally, and Connally's wife Nellie, in a presidential motorcade, in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas. A ten-month investigation concluded that Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald who was killed by Jack Ruby before he could stand trial. (Getty Images)

The Manhattan Project: The United States, United Kingdom and Canada began working on a research and development project that produced the first atomic bombs during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army Corps of Engineers. (Getty Images)